PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – No one has thrown more touchdowns in a game at Heinz Field than Chiefs starter Patrick Mahomes. In his only ever start against the Steelers, Mahomes was 23 of 28 for 326 yards and SIX touchdowns in a 42-37 win in September, 2018.
The first-year starter would throw 44 other touchdowns that season to lead the NFL and later named the NFL MVP. Mahomes has 12 touchdowns to four interceptions during the Chiefs six-game winning streak and has 4,052 yards with 30 TDs and 13 INTs on the season.
"Mahomes is playing at a high level again," said Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. "I watched a lot of their games this year because they are on national television nearly every single week. Now we are seeing a Chiefs that we are used to seeing. A complete team."
"There is not an angle on the field he can't throw at," said Steelers captain Cam Heyward. "He will make you pay. We don't say enough about the skill pieces he does have. The mobility, the arm strength, the accuracy. He's the all-league quarterback that can do it all."
"He's unbelievably talented," said Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. "He's big-time competitive. He's got arm talent. He's got leg talent. He's got football intellect. He's extremely difficult to trick."
"In the very early portions of the week, I put their sack reel on, and it became evident to me on the sack reel that he's only been sacked I think one time this year versus pressure, and I think that speaks to how he performs, and they perform versus pressure."
That would match strength vs.
strength as the Steelers lead the AFC with 41 sacks. Outside linebacker TJ Watt leads the NFL with 17.5 himself.
"At lot of guys win the one-on-one matchups and he's able to get the ball out pretty quickly," Watt said. "They are clean, quick reads for him. Some of it is the RPO stuff, a lot of it is him making plays. He's slippery in the pocket, knows where the pressure comes from, evades it and gets the ball out."
If you are too aggressive with Mahomes, he can beat you on the ground. He's third in the AFC with 302 rushing yards.
"He's a good enough athlete to go either way and be a threat to run or pass," said Steelers Defensive Coordinator Keith Butler. "If you are a linebacker, what decision do you make-come up and try to tackle the sucker and let him throw it behind you or stay back and let him run. Those are tough decisions. It's going to be a challenge for us."
"I don't think he wants to run it. He scrambles to throw the ball, but he will run it. It's still a danger to anything you want to do."
"Pat is a great player," said former teammate and current Steelers linebacker Taco Charlton. "His arm talent, he can extend plays, he's very elusive. People say he's not athletic, but he can turn it on when he wants to. He's more athletic than you would think."
Kansas City is definitely a pass-first team, but are a respectable middle-of-the-pack with 1,538 yards rushing and a 4.5 yards per carry average. Steelers expect them to test their league-worst rush defense.
"It's a copy-cat league, if you are not doing something well, a team is definitely going to exploit that," Heyward said. "I do think we will get a dose of run, but you aren't going to change your whole personality. We got to clean up some stuff so if they do go to the run, we are able to stop it and make them go on to something else."
"I would," Butler said if asked if he expects more runs from KC. "They have play action too with the people they got. Their running backs are good. We can't discount the running backs in his situation. The time of possession hurt us (against Tennessee). We can't allow that to happen. We have to be able to stop them."
Meaning tackling will be at a premium. Not just because of the threat of the run, but for their receivers NFL leading ability to run after catch.
"It's really big this week," said safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. "They have guys, all the receivers honestly that are great run after catch guys. All of them are guys that can get loose. We have to do a great job of flying to the ball, getting to the ball. Even after the first guy gets there, we need three other guys to get there as well. We need to swarm to the ball."
"He is going to be tough," Butler said. "How many Super Bowls have they been to in the last two years?"
"They are a good football team. It's a challenge for us. The best team we've played this year no doubt and we are going to their place."
